The present invention relates to a novel and useful ball having velocity measuring capabilities.
Balls are used in many sporting events and are found in all shapes and sizes. It is often desirable to calculate the speed of a ball being batted, thrown, kicked and the like to determine the level of playing of the particular sports activity in which the ball is being employed. For example, a baseball hurled at 100 miles per hour indicates that a pitcher delivering such ball is capable of participating in big league activities. Also, novices of all ages are generally interested in determining the speed of a ball during its flight of travel just for the sake of curiosity and delight.
In the past, stop watches and visual observations have been used to calculate the speed of a ball's travel. In addition, radar has been employed to make the same determination with higher accuracy and in a prompt manner.
Self contained measuring apparatuses for balls have also been devised. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,976 discloses a circuit for the digital measurement for the speed of a moving object. The object generally moves in a rotational manner such that cycle duration values are measured each relative to certain fixed speed values.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,948 describes a baseball having inherent speed measuring capabilities. The baseball is constructed with a chip that determines stopping of ball movement via a piezoelectric switch, which is used in conjunction with a manually operated start switch. The distance applied to the ball is preset through a counter which also determines the speed of the ball during its flight.
A baseball having speed measuring ability which does not require a manual actuation of a start switch and is easily adjusted for varying distance would be a notable advance in the field of sporting equipment.